
A National Park Service volunteer
browsing on eBay has made an astonishing discovery: a long-lost photo
that park officials have described as a "priceless" piece of Civil War
history. The stereo view image depicts Selina Gray (at right, above), an
enslaved woman who was head housekeeper at the Virginia home of
Confederate General Robert E. Lee. NPS spokesman Lee Werst described
Gray as a "pivotal but little-known figure in our nation's history." Her
bravery in defending the house after Gen. Lee's family left helped to save cherished heirlooms that had once belonged to President George Washington.